Life or Death
by kieda-14
Summary: No one ever told them becoming adults would be so difficult. What will happen when the secrets of the innocent become unraveled..The tension is just beginning.
1. The Beginning

(Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in this story--)

(Sadly, I don't own any of the characters in this story--)

**The Beginning**

I felt him watching me. Watching my every move. His deep breathing echoed right behind my back. We were back to "that" place. Where it all happened. About 100km east of the Sand village, the empty desert with no direction. I look over at Ino. She's shaking. I have never seen her so scared. And surely this is the first time I have seen her cry. Then, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I froze. If I dropped dead now it would be so much easier. I slowly turned my head hoping it's an angel instead. But it's him. With _those_ eyes.

"Sakuraaa!!" I woke up in a sweat, gasping for air. _Ugh, I overslept_. "Sakura, what are you still doing in bed? There are two young men here to see you." My mom says in seemingly one breath.

"Heh! I totally spaced it!" I panicked

"Calm down! Spaced what? School doesn't start for another 2 hours."

"I know, I know, Mom. But I'm supposed to go out for ramen with Naruto and Sasuke." I jumped out of bed and scrambled around my room to get ready.

"Umm..Ramen for breakfast?" My mom asked puzzled.

"Yeah..It was uhh..Naruto's pick." I said while remembering losing in rock-paper-scissors.

"Haha, of course. Well, Naruto and Sasuke seem to have become quite handsome. You better get ready well. Keeping two men waiting only makes you trouble!" She giggles.

"Oh, well thanks for reminding me!" I say sarcastically while she leaves my room. I hear her telling them that I'll be down soon.

"Well, finally!" Naruto shouts.

_Who does he think he is?_ _And_ _in front of Sasuke? NO way._ I ran downstairs as fast as I could.

"Ready!" I smile. I look around. "Wh-Where's Naruto?"

"Ahh, hiding behind the door, he heard you running downstairs fast." Sasuke answered.

"Hey, Sasuke…I just..you know…wanted to..surprise her! Haha..surprise.." Naruto peaks out.

"Right. I see nothing has really changed with you two. Let's go." Sasuke says while starting to walk off.

_Why does Naruto always have to ruin everything! Sasuke still thinks that I'm that 12-year-old girl, doesn't he? Ohh, this sucks!_

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto burries his face in the ramen. Sasuke and I watch, worrying if any of it is digestible.

"Umm.. Sasuke! Who do you have for Strategy class?" I learn in closer to start conversation.

"Asuma."

"Ah! So do I! It looks like we'll be-" but guess who interrupts me…

"Sasuke! It's been such a long time! I have Asuma as well! It looks like we'll be in the same class." Ino smiles. A charming, but wicked smile. I glared at her as she stood there hugging Sasuke from behind and sticking her disgusting tongue out at me, like usual.

"Hi Ino! Woah, you haven't grown at all!" Naruto greets her.

There was a sudden silence. But, I was so happy inside! She let go of Sasuke and grabs Naruto by the collar, shaking him.

"Wh-What was that, NARUTO?" She was flaming.

"Heheh.. I-I meant your height, Ino, I swear!" Ino backs up and lets him go.

"Oh! You pervert!" She turned red, so embarrassed. "I better get to school now…Bye Sasuke! I'll see you in Strategy class!" She winks at him and struts off.

"Well…that was awkward." I said.

"How about we leave now? I don't want to be late." Sasuke says as he stands up.

"Sasuke NOT wanting to be late? This is news for me! Seems like you've been away for too long from Kakashi." I say jokingly.

"Hah! I have been away from everyone for too long." Sasuke says while walking off.

_I wanted to say something but I was speechless. I just sat there…Wondering if Sasuke maybe missed me while he was away…_

"Hey..uhh…Sakura..Do you have any money by chance?" Naruto says while preparing to flinch.

"WHY?" I couldn't have been any more irritated.

"I'm sorry!! I guess I spaced it." He tries to laugh while scratching the back of his head.

"WERE YOU EXPECTING US TO PAY FOR YOU?" I stand up furiously.

"No no no! I just-" He waves his hands trying to put out my fire.

"Okay…But, you are definitely paying me back." I gave in.

"Oh..one more thing..I had…uhh..6 bowls.."

There was a short pause.

"NNNNARUTOOOO!!"

END OF CHAPTER

**Key:**

Itadakimasu: A Japanese phrase said before eating in admiration of the food. Naruto uses this term always right before he eats a bowl of ramen.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, there will be many more chapters to come. This is our first fanfic so please give us constructive advice to improve our style of writing. Also, PLEASE no flaming By the way, not all of the chapters will be held in Sakura's narration. It will most likely alternate between multiple characters per chapter. Thank you for reading!


	2. Teenagers

Teenagers

**Teenagers**

"Naruto!" Anko yells as she hits me on the head with a heavy book. _She's really strong…_ I yawned, not welcoming the rude interruption.

"Oww…Anko, why do you have to be so violent?" I whimpered.

"It's Anko-sensei! And it is ruder to sleep during my lecture than smacking you over the head. You deserved it for not paying attention!" The class laughs as I mop up the drool puddle on my desk.

"I was paying attention!" I exclaimed.

"Hahaha, were you really? Then shadow clone another person and double them." Anko grinned, doubting me. I stood up confidently,

"Jiraiya-sama and I spent half of our time practicing this one! Watch me!" I was eager to show the class. _Poof! _Anko's mouth dropped open as the whole class turned bright red. Right before their eyes was my signature move: My sexy woman jutsu. Only this time it wasn't me, as Anko commanded. In fact, it was Anko herself. Two of her, as Anko wanted. Quickly, I released the jutsu and returned to my normal state. Without saying anything, Anko who was as red as hell dragged me out of the classroom and sent me down to Tsunade's. Unfortunately, the school is attatched to the Hokage's office, so I had to experience her wrath.

Tsunade-sama's office isn't any regular Hokage's. There are sake classes all over her desk and on top of her untouched paperwork. Shizune is like her maid, brining in more bottles and guiding her hand to do the papers. Sometimes I think we should seriously just make Shizune hokage. But, Tsunade is more than meets the eye; she is legendary.

"Come in Naruto!" She yells angrily. I slowly walk in, frightened. She sees me, then sighs deeply, massaging her neck and stretching.

"Naruto, not again. I already know. You can't do these things in class, you know that. Jiraiya was a terrible influence on you." She says quietly while getting louder.

"Come on Tsunade, you know I was just kidding. Take it easy, it's just the first day of school!" I tried to persuade her.

"I know. This is an absolute warning though. I'm serious! I guess Jiraiya has taught you some pretty amazing things, but can you please just try to grow up a little more?" She replied. Honestly, I was shocked she was being so calm.

"Ahh, thanks! Well it looks like you have more important matters to deal with so I'll just go-" I started to leave.

"Wait!" She stopped me, "Don't think you're getting off so easily!" She says proudly. I frowned and groaned. Then, the door swings open and smacks me in the face, right where Anko hit me. "Ahh!!Owww…" I lay on the ground completely decked.

"Oh! Sorry Naruto. Tsunade-sama, he's here." Shizune says out of breath.

"Ahh! Thank you, Shizune. Naruto, you can leave now." She shooed me off.

I got up and dusted my self, glared at Tsunade, then left. As I am walking off I hear her say under her breath, "Teenagers…" Before I turn around to chew her out, I see who is walking in her office. It's Sasuke. He just walks past without even acknowledging me. _Why is Sasuke in trouble? _I tried to eavesdrop, but Shizune saw me and slammed the door. _It must have been pretty important…_

Detention with Kakashi is never thrilling. He just sits there and reads dirty books. Kiba, Shikamaru, and I were the only ones. Since Kakashi wasn't looking, we just drew funny pictures of what his face might look like under that mask he never takes off. First, Shikamaru drew him with vampire teeth, as he tries to suck Ino's neck. Then, Kiba drew one of him like a monkey with a puffed out lip and buck teeth. Finally, I drew one of him with a head gear for his teeth. He had a cane and was crouched over like an old man. Once when we were trying not to laugh, he noticed we were drawing. He got up and started walking over. We all froze, I nudged Kiba to have him turn over the papers but he didn't do anything. He stopped right in front of us, and before anyone said anything he reached up his arms, I covered my head, preparing for him to strike me. Instead, he just shut the window behind Shikamaru. Then, he went back and sat down. The bell rang and we all got up, with sweat dripping down from our nervousness. Right before we left he says without looking up, "I haven't even worn braces before…" I almost stopped, but we just kept walking. _Kakashi sees EVERYTHING, I swear he has eyes on the back of his head..._

It was weird to see the school empty. The only thing I heard was the echoing of my footsteps. I passed an empty room, it had the door cracked and I heard a loud angry voice. I didn't want to be seen, I already got in enough trouble today, so I carefully went behind the door and leaned in. It was hard to understand what the voice was saying. All I heard was, "You can't come here, not yet. Give me some time, we only have one shot. I don't want to mess up and ruin it all (talking on other line)…Yeah, they don't have a clue. Don't worry about it. Just trust me and when the time comes I will inform you. We have to be delicate, so just be patient.(talking)….Bye."

I was a little puzzled, but when I heard him say bye I jumped and started walking off like I was just passing. I heard them walk out of the room and come in behind me. I was dying to turn around to see who it was. But, I didn't really want to because I had a feeling I knew who it was unfortunately. "Naruto!" Sasuke catches up with me. Sure enough, Sasuke was the one speaking.

"Oh, hey Sasuke! What are you doing here, school ended a while ago, and I didn't see you in detention…" I questioned him.

"Yeah, Tsunade called me down and I had to stay for a while. Hey..umm. Did you hear anything? He stopped walking.

"Uhh..What do you mean?" I got nervous and stopped too.

"…Nevermind. See you at training tonight." He left quickly.

I sighed with relief. _That was too close. But who was Sasuke talking to? _I became quite suspicious. I didn't want to doubt Sasuke, but on the other hand I wanted to be careful. I thought about telling Sakura, but I know if I told her she would be crushed…_What do I do? _


	3. Unraveling

Unraveling

**Unraveling**

_No one ever talks about the stories of the lost. Once it's in the past, it's buried. It almost hurts more to let go of the lost than constantly remembering. As for me, I will never let them go. I will never leave them behind. Not once, will I ever walk away again. _

I finished training my students that night, it was another gloomy day. Everyone was quieter than usual, even Naruto surprisingly. While I was at the grave of my father and lost comrades, paying my respects as I do every morning and night, it started to rain. It felt so cathartic; like a cleansing rain from the heavens_. It's getting late; I better get home it looks like a storm is coming in tonight._

As I was walking back I heard crying. It sounded familiar so I followed the weeps. Around the corner was Sakura, she looked very upset. She was holding something in her hands, keeping it close to her chest. Before she saw me, I stood behind her and put my hands on her shoulders. "If you stay out here in the cold, you could get sick." I smiled at her. She jumped and turned around quickly, while putting the object in her pocket.

"Oh, Kakashi-sensei, it's you. You surprised me." She said while wiping her eyes; looking frightened and troubled. Then, she sneezed and looked away; she was shivering. She wrinkled her nose awkwardly.

"Heh, why don't I treat you to some hot soup? I think you need that right about now." I offered, trying to be comforting. She looked up at me, smiled, and nodded.

Sakura was still quiet at the soup shop. I couldn't tell if it was because she was sick or because something was the matter. I tried to bring it up without upsetting her again. "Sakura, is there something bothering you? I'm not blind... what's wrong?" I asked concerned. She looked off to the side, furrowed her brow and started to look worried.

"Can I tell you something?" But promise me to pretend you know nothing about it later…" She confessed. I suddenly sat up straight to listen intently. _This is more serious than I expected. _

I had a nightmare about "her" tonight. I was letting her go again. The pain of regret engulfed my heart. Then, a loud thunder crash woke me up, and I sat up as a lightning flash filled my room. As it happened, a feminine figure appeared right in front of my window. I was shocked and jumped out of bed, ready for anything. I waited for a little, but didn't sense anyone. I went back to the window and opened it. No one was there. _Was someone watching me sleep? After hearing Sakura's secret, I became worried. I needed to watch my back constantly… And my comrades'. _

The next morning was an average morning; I tried to ignore all of the strange things happening and let my mind slipped away. I sat up in bed, slowly after laying there, thinking through the day awaiting me. My house is very small, and very quiet. It's expected for living alone. _Alone? I am used to it. Empty? I am used to it. Don't ask me about empty. In my life, I am the last one standing, the one that couldn't save the rest. _Suddenly, there was a pounding on my door. I slowly was walking towards it, but they didn't stop pounding so I walked a little faster. I opened it and it was Kurenai, she had been crying and she looked much stressed. "Kakashi! Hinata has gone missing!"


	4. Never Leave A Comrade Behind

Never Leave a Comrade Behind

**Never Leave a Comrade Behind**

_Being back is good and all, but do you ever get that feeling that you're not really wanted back? People smile and welcome you but then watch their backs because of you. In class, I feel like my every move is being watched. Yesterday was the meeting with the counsel of Konoha. The elders want me exiled from the village, but the teachers and trainers wanted to give me a second chance, even Tsunade did. All the fighting was unstoppable. Nevertheless, in the end Tsunade decided to give me 30 days to do anything the Elders want me to, to prove myself to them. They will make me do the most difficult of missions, to see how faithful I am to my homeland… _

The other day in Technique class, Kakashi asked us to think of a jutsu that will stop our enemy. When he asked me to, I stood up and walked to the front of the room. I tried my illusion technique, and quickly the room fell silent. My eyes turned pure white and snakes slowly slithered out of my sleeves, they wrapping around my enemy (a wooden one) and strangled them. The head of the wood post fell off, and Kakashi stopped me as soon as he could. I blinked my eyes and realized that the whole class was staring and whispering to each other. I tried to ignore it, and retired back to my seat. The funny thing is I never even finished the technique. Orochimaru's technique: the art of torture…

In training I was so frustrated so I went all out. I was so aggravated because I was watching Naruto and he's improved greatly. If I can't beat Naruto, then I have no chance of beating him… my brother, Itachi. Just the thought of it had me shaking; I wanted him dead by my hands. I wanted his blood shed to pay for the bloodline that meant everything to me he killed. Everything I do, I do for him; his death. "Sasuke, can I pull you aside for a moment?" Kakashi asked me quietly. I nodded and followed him. "I know yesterday is very difficult for you. But, you can't go against the elders' words and you have to make sure that you do everything they ask of you instantly. That is the only way you can stay. And in class, you can't use those techniques like you did earlier today. I'm going to have to pull you away from class if you keep that up. There are some students who don't even trust you so when you show that much dangerous power, it doesn't help. Don't worry about it, you have improved a lot." Kakashi told me all of this as calmly as he could. He could see that it didn't really help and that I was really stressed out with it all.

"You see, Sakura told me something last night. It was about what really happened on the mission we sent her and Ino on last week." He started but hesitated and stopped.

"Itachi?" I asked confusedly.

Kakashi looked up at me right away.

No one's to say if Kakashi really told me Sakura's secret or not. Either way, time was running out. And my opportunity to see him again was getting closer and closer. I felt ready, but it's almost impossible to be absolutely sure. I had to protect my team, no matter what. Tough times were approaching, and to prove myself to the village I was going to do every little thing I could to protect everyone. I just want to be loved….

I stayed out for training really late, it was raining hard. A storm came in and when it started thundering and lightning I had to walk home. On my way back I found Kiba. He looked upset and he was running really fast. He saw me and stopped, he was breathing deeply. "Sasuke! Have you seen Hinata?" He yelled at me.

"Sorry, no. What's going on?" I asked.

"Never mind that, you need to get to Tsunade's. And if you see anyone else, get them to her office as well. This is an emergency!" He said quickly as he ran off again.

_The trouble is just beginning. It has happened…_

**A/N: **I am very sorry that this storyline has such a slow start. The next few chapters will be explaining some things quickly. I plan for this story to be 40-50 chapters AT THE LEAST so bare with me here; I'm just trying to start some plot ties. Also, I just enabled anonymous reviews, so please review! Sorry, I didn't know it was disabled. Thank you for reading


End file.
